Galway felt like a really good place to come and make the record

Declan O'Rourke on re-releasing Since Kyabram and his connections to Galway

WHEN DECLAN O’Rourke’s debut album, Since Kyabram, was released in 2004, it confirmed, indeed exceeded, the promise and expectations that had been building up around the Dublin singer-songwriter.

That album contained his great song, ‘Galileo’, which Paul Weller declared was “possibly the greatest song written in the last 30 years”, and was subsequently covered by Josh Groban, Eddie Reader, and Jacqui Dankworth. It marked the start of a career that has seen Declan enjoy critical and public acclaim; release a further six solo albums - three of them in the last three years alone - with 2011’s Mag Pai Zai and last year’s Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine, in particular, earning major plaudits; collaborate with Damien Dempsey and The Dubliners’ John Sheehan; and win the ’Best Original Folk Song' at the inaugural RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards